Hi, welcome to my guide. I’m writing it in hope of making more buyers aware of cheap, fake, bootleg, pirated (however you want to put it) Nintendo DS games that are slowly flooding eBay. Many of you buyers may have already noticed. It was bound to happen, it was just a matter of time. I see many eBayers everyday buying fake DS games off sellers I’m 100% certain are dodgy. Fake DS games have absolutely no re-sell value and if you do get caught out and buy a fake DS game and try to re-sell it on eBay, you could get in trouble, so it’s best to try and avoid them from the start. This issue makes buying DS games on eBay difficult and sometimes frustrating and so hopefully my guide will help all of you out a bit.
If you look in the Gameboy Advance games section, you will see tonnes and tonnes of games from overseas sellers, and most of these are indeed pirated copies. eBay haven’t done anything about this. Not sure if they can since there’s so many and it can be difficult at times to prove which sellers are legitimate sellers and which are dodgy.
The same goes for the Nintendo DS games. There are now many sellers that are indeed dodgy, that sell fake DS games. If eBay haven’t done much about this issue in the Gameboy Advance section, then they most likely won’t do anything in the Nintendo DS section. So it is up to YOU, the buyer, to be able to spot which games are genuine and which are fake.
There are a number of ways you can do this. Although it can often be hard to know for certain if a seller is selling fake games, you can narrow down the information you find and decide whether you think that it is safe to buy off that seller.
Location of Seller – Very important. You’ll be better off buying from Australian sellers if you want to be certain of buying genuine games. You’ll find that basically all pirated games come from mainly Asian countries like China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. However this doesn’t mean that ALL sellers from these countries sell fake games. There are some out there that sell genuine games. I have bought off a couple sellers from Hong Kong that sold me genuine DS games. You just have to do the research before buying. But generally speaking, I would avoid buying games from sellers in China. You will find that they’re dodgy 95% of the time.
Gallery Picture – You will see many sellers using stock photos for their gallery pictures. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with using these pictures. You may not have a camera to actually take pictures of the game you’re selling. But if you’re dealing with an International seller; mainly from Asian countries like China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand; you should be careful because when you think about it, would a seller selling fake DS games show pictures of the fake games? I don’t think so. Sellers who show pictures of the actual item are always a good bet.
Feedback – Yes, feedback. Probably the most important thing to do before making any purchase is to check the seller’s feedback, and this is no different when buying DS games. Someone with a high % positive feedback is obviously going to catch your eye but that doesn’t straight away mean they’re legitimate. Check what other buyers said in the feedback. Many buyers such as parents buying games for their kids won’t be completely aware of pirated games and the difference in look between a genuine game, so may leave positive feedback thinking they got what they bought. A thing I do is change the feedback to 200 per page, then search words such as ‘genuine’ or ‘authentic’. You can also search words like ‘fake’, ‘pirated’ etc to find your answer. Look at whatever neutrals and negatives buyers left, as many will give you the answer you’re looking for in one line. If this is the case don’t risk buying from that seller. You can also message previous buyers of that seller to ask whether they’re fake. I have done this many times when I was a bit skeptical and found that most who responded said something like ‘Yeah it is’ or ‘Now that you’ve mentioned it, I think it is’.
Item Description – I’ve noticed that all overseas sellers state ‘100% Genuine’ in their listing and the truth is, most of them are lying. Some ARE selling genuine games such as ‘biz-com’, who I’ve bought off, but others just say it so that the buyer will feel safe. Maybe not all who state ‘100% Genuine’ are dodgy, but try and look for sellers that emphasize that their games are 100% genuine. e.g. ‘All our games are 100% genuine. We sell only genuine, authentic games! We do not deal with cheap pirated games! Guaranteed!’ You will have much better luck with sellers that try and emphasize that their games are genuine than with those that do not.
Now what if you have already bought a DS game from an overseas seller and suspect it is fake? If you look hard enough, I’d imagine it wouldn’t really be that difficult to spot out a fake. Nintendo, being a Japanese company make quality products, so if your game looks dodgy then you’ve probably got a fake in your hands. But since pirated DS games are not all made by the same person, the way they differ to genuine games may not always be the same which can make things tricky. Some may look very genuine to the untrained eye. Here’s some ways of telling.
Case – The cases cover slip would most likely look very cheap and poorly printed.
Hard to see with the small picture but the genuine one has a Nintendo DS logo next to the cartridge holder. The fake one does not. However other variants of fakes may have it depending on who made it. The case would be cheap looking anyway. Also, check the copyright year on the back of the case at the bottom and make sure it actually matches the year the game was released.
Manual – The manual is poorly printed and poor quality. Also, usually the whole manual is not included, so it may be only 10 pages long when infact it should be 40 pages long. Look at the contents of the manual. Is it structured like a genuine manual would be?
Cartridge –
Hard to tell, but the fake one isn’t as crisp and the ‘Nintendo Official Product’ logo isnt as gold. This one would be a hard one to spot. If you look closely at the very bottom though, you’ll notice the fake game has a kind of semi-circle instead of an arrow.
This example has poor quality printing. Also note that on the bottom right corner of every genuine cartridge, depending on the region, there will ALWAYS be 3 letters representing the region. e.g. AUS, USA, JPN, EUR etc. This picture doesn’t so it’s a fake.
All genuine games have a seperate number code underneath ‘PAT. PEND.’ on the back of the cartridge. Also, there is always a kind of indented square around the edge as you can see in the genuine one. The fake one is missing this as it is smooth.
These fake ones are missing the numbers underneath ‘PAT. PEND.’ Also, the left one’s contacts are black. They should be metallic like the right one. However the right one is another variant of a fake as it doesn’t have the numbers underneath ‘PAT. PEND.’
DSi Compatability – Nintendo cracked down on pirated games with the release of the DSi, which DOES NOT play fake DS games. If your suspected fake game doesn’t play on your DSi, but plays on a DS or DS Lite, then the game is definitely fake. You might sometimes see sellers saying that their games are not suitable for DSi. This is nonsense since all DS games are compatible with all three variations of the system. So if a seller states this in their listing, then avoid as it means they’re selling fakes.
Information Regarding Age Ratings: You may notice that games on eBay may have different age ratings on the bottom corners of the cases. A rating symbol unfamiliar to you doesn’t mean it’s a fake but that it’s just from another region. The majority of pirated games are copies of the USA version. Here’s some information regarding the different age rating symbols:
USA Version: The American version symbols as seen in the pictures below have an ESRB rating. The ones you’d most commonly find for DS games are
- E = suitable for everyone 6 years and over
- E 10+ = suitable for everyone 10 years and over
- T = suitable for everyone 13 years and over
- M = suitable for everyone 17 years and over
- RP = Rating Pending. NOTE: If you see a seller selling a game with the RP symbol on it or if you’ve bought one with it, then it is 100% fake! RP is used when the game has bee submitted to the ESRB but is awaiting a final rating. RP is only used in advertising prior to the game’s release!
UK/EUR Version: One thing I want to note is that many UK DS games are imported from the UK and sold in Australian stores. Many DS games along with other console games, don’t get their own made copies released in Australia and so they’ll often be imported from the UK and will get a age rating sticker stuck on the case. You may notice this, as some games will have the age rating actually printed on the cover slip (actual AUS version) while others will have just a sticker (EUR version) covering the EUR age rating (usually a 16+ or little red circle for eg). Regardless, the games are still 100% legitimate and are the same game (Sometimes the EUR version may have additional languages..but that’s the only difference). Also all DS EUR copies have a fatter white DS case while most AUS copies (along with US) will have a thinner black case. There are cases where AUS copies have been made with the fatter white case though. The white case is fatter because usually the manuals are thicker due to it being in multiple languages.
Extras: Here are more examples of some games I found on eBay from a Hong Kong seller. He decided to take pictures of his fake games hoping it would help him seem legitimate. If you know your stuff though you can tell that these are actually fakes.
Here we see the USA version of Final Fantasy III. It is however fake because the cover is not meant to look like that. That cover is what the Japanese version looks like but the USA version has a plain white background. Also note the blue ‘Wifi’ logo is missing. This logo is ALWAYS on games that support online Wifi.
This is what the genuine one looks like:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/ff3genuine.jpg
Here we see the USA version of Diddy Kong Racing. It is however fake because if you look on the left hand side, the turtle and his kart are cut off on the edge, however on the genuine version, they overlap the edge. Also note once again the blue ‘Wifi’ logo is missing. Like I said, this logo is ALWAYS on games that support online Wifi. Knowing which games support Wifi can help you distinguish fakes from genuine ones.
This is what the genuine one looks like:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/ddkrdsgenuine.jpg
(Due to a limit of 10 pictures in a guide, I have to use links for the rest of the pictures)
Sellers selling fake games on eBay Australia:
sourceleading – Location: China
This seller shows pictures of the actual games however they’re faded in colour and many are different to genuine covers such as the Diddy Kong Racing DS one shown above. Some of his WiFi games show the WiFi logo however some such as Zelda Phantom Hourglass (which should) do not.
yueguangyefeng – Location: China
This seller states “All items we selling are 100% AUTHENTIC, and come with Original box and Instruction booklet. Don’t ask me if they are original!” Sound convincing doesn’t it? However having checked his feedback there are several buyers stating that they don’t appear to be genuine, appear different in colour and have poor printing. One buyer even states that the game doesn’t work on all DS systems. This does not sound like Nintendo quality at all.
08anna80 – Location: China/ Hong Kong
This seller’s account is registered in China but states to live or send the goods from Hong Kong. I got some helpful feedback from a buyer of a DS game from this seller saying that it’s a fake. The buyer described it saying…. “it doesn’t have the lettering under “PAT. PEND” on the back, and the case is dodgy. The only text inside the manual, other than the seizure warnings etc, was a reprint of the Gamespot review of the game, formatted for the size of the booklet.”
Note: This seller was previously ‘loveanne0808′ along with many other usernames. Seems like they’re continuously changing their eBay username.
crossfocus – Location: Australia/China
Another sell that states that their games are 100% genuine. Based on their horrendous feedback though you can make your own mind up whether you think they’re selling fakes. They have tonnes of negative feedback stating the games are dodgy fakes and arrived from China rather than the UK. Seems like the seller was previously ‘located’ in the UK but has now changed that to Australia. Either way it looks like they’re still sending their dodgy fakes from China. Simply put: AVOID.
spaceboxx – Location: Singapore/Australia
Got some feedback from a buyer of this seller stating that the instruction booklet was just a review of the game (Hannah Montana Music Jam) and the case didn’t have the blue Wi-Fi logo on it which it should since it’s a Wi-Fi compatible game.
karmic_destiny – Location: Australia
Came across this seller and noticed that while they sell only USA imported copies (absolutely nothing wrong with that), they’re actually fakes because the ESRB ratings (the North American equivalent of Australia’s G, PG, M etc system of ratings) on the bottom left corner of ALL their games are ‘E for Everyone’. This shouldn’t be the case though with some of the games such as Call of Duty 4 as they’re meant to have a rating of ‘T for Teen’ on the actual genuine games. So this is another way of telling that a game is fake…..know the ACTUAL ESRB rating. This seller’s feedback is surprisingly good considering they’re selling fakes, however one buyer wasn’t fooled and left neutral feedback saying “Great Transaction, but was not informed game came from china…. (pirated copy)”. So there you go…..there are dodgy sellers in Australia too that most likely import the fake games.
airbusa380xj – Location: China/Hong Kong
Another Chinese/Hong Kong seller that has been reported of selling used, fake games.
supersold0630 – Location: China/Hong Kong
Seller located in China, shipping from Hong Kong reported of selling low quality, fake DS games.
luckmusic8888 – Location: Hong Kong
Seller from Hong Kong reported of selling more fake DS games.
laodou2008 – Location: Hong Kong
Just look at their feedback.
trade_island – Location: Hong Kong
Just look at their feedback.
xprodeal – Location: Hong Kong/China
Just look at their feedback.
giftstoyou-88 – Location: China
Take a look at their feedback.
adamchen888 – Location: Hong Kong
Has good feedback however one of his buyers contacted me regarding the Pokemon Pearl game they bought. The game had 2004 on the back of the case when infact it was released in 2007 and it also said single card multi-player when it is only a multi card multi-player game. Also the number code underneath PAT PEND was missing.
elean.3008 – Location: Hong Kong/China
A buyer reported to me that they received a fake Castlevania game from them.
showwhat – Location: Hong Kong/China
A buyer messaged me stating that their game was easily a fake and that it had the same characteristics of fakes outlined in this guide.
wii-tech – Location: Hong Kong/China
Look at their feedback.
n8store – Location: Hong Kong/China
Look at their feedback.
vesoul.trdg – Location: Hong Kong/China
Sells fakes with no boxes.
cygrace1975 – Location: Australia
pakychick – Location: Australia
mkss1234 – Location: Australia
yangtzeelectronics
These 3 Australian sellers are selling fake Pokemon Diamond/Pearl games. They’re all selling the US version, however I can tell they’re fake because:
2 of them are using the UK/European DS white (thick) case.
They have the blue Wi-Fi logo at the bottom left corner when all genuine versions of Pokemon Diamon/Pearl (position varies between different games) have it at the top left corner
It’s meant to say “Game Experience May Change During Online Play” underneath the E rating, which it doesn’t (another way of telling fakes! All genuine USA Wi-Fi games say this! If not this, they’ll say something else but they always have something written underneath)
Also note the fakes ones don’t have the glittery/shiny effect that the genuine ones have.
Take a look at these pictures for a comparison. The first 2 in each are the fakes, while the 3rd is the genuine one.
Pokemon Diamond:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/pd.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/pd2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/pdgenuine2.jpg
Pokemon Pearl:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/pp.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/pp2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/bboy_jfa/eBay Guide Pics/ppgenuine.jpg
etime-digital – Location: Australia
All the sellers DS games pictures are of fakes such as Pokemon like the ones above. Avoid
vindaloo48 – Location: Australia
Seller is selling fakes. Pokemon games are clearly fake from looking at the pics. US version but comes in a UK thick transparent case. US versions NEVER come in these types of cases….only thin black ones.
I’m getting more and more reports of dodgy sellers and most of them are from China or Hong Kong. My advice to you is to just avoid sellers from China or Hong Kong! You’ll most likely just end up with a fake game and will have to go through a dispute to get your money back once you’ve sent the game back. It’s just not worth it. I’ll just remind you that I have dealt with one Hong Kong seller called ‘biz-com’ who does actually sell genuine video games. But apart from this one seller every other China or Hong Kong seller seems to be selling fakes!
I could go on and on. It really frustrates me to see in completed listings, hundreds of buyers that pay good money for a game that they think they’re getting for a bargain when in fact it’s a fake that’s only worth 5 cents. Often buyers will buy a game from a Hong Kong/Chinese seller for $25 for example (and are laughing at how they got a great ‘bargain’), when at the same time there are Australian sellers, with their own pictures of genuine games, selling the game for $35. The buyers think they’re saving $10 when in fact they’re actually losing $25! Just remember that while my guide is here to help you, there is some degree of common sense from the buyer that plays a role in all this. If it’s too good to be true and it’s coming from a Hong Kong/Chinese seller, then it probably is. These pirates are raking in a HUGE profit and it’s the buyers that are feeding them.
If you come across a fake DS game from a seller on eBay that’s not listed here, please contact me and I’ll add them to the list, once I check them out myself. There’s bound to be more and I’ll update this if I come across any. Just remember, sellers from China and Hong Kong are the biggest culprits!
Well, that’s all I have to say for my guide. It may not always be easy to spot sellers selling fake DS games but if you follow my guide hopefully it will help. If you think a seller is selling a fake game but it’s cheaper in price to a genuine one, you still shouldn’t buy it. Remember that fake DS games have no re-sell value and can’t be re-sold. Also, the game may not work properly or may not even work at all!
Hope this guide helped! 
If you found it the slightest bit helpful, please vote so that this guide can reach all the people out there that are unaware of these cheap, rotten sellers and their fake games! I’m sure the only ones that rate this guide as not helpful are the dodgy sellers themselves! Thanks!
P.S. I’m getting lots of messages from buyers saying how helpful the guide was and how it helped get their money back from dodgy sellers. Glad to know this guide is actually making a difference. However, due to the amount of emails I’m getting from eBay members, I’m sorry but I can’t personally assist each and every one of you with how to deal with transactions regarding fake games you’ve bought. This guide is here to help you with that. If the game you received is fake, then advise the seller that you want a refund. If they don’t cooperate, then try opening a dispute through PayPal.